.[/quote]
, and agree that Bela Karolyi needs to stop complaining. The American women didn't win gold because they made mistakes - and those mistakes seemed mental, not age-related or because their bodies were not as small.

Well, he is there for commentary purposes, and it would seem against his particular personality if he just sat there politely, quietly. I think everyone was well aware of his "enthusiasm" before he was asked to participate with Bob Costas...although, Costas seemed a little uncomfortable when he brought up the possibility of the Chinese cheating. Frankly, I have a hard time understanding him when he's all worked up. Anway, I am so happy for Nastia and Shawn. I had fun watching that nail-biter last night!

I'm not sure if I missed the women's all-around because I was asleep or because I was out shopping. But good for Nastia Liukin - who I must note does not look like a child (Wikipedia has her turning 19 in two months). Maybe I'll catch a replay.

I obviously don't watch the American broadcast but from youtube clips and what I've read online, it sounds as though the commentary can be somewhat one-sided. That's fine, but those are the commentators' opinions, not facts. Being from a nation that's not very good at sports (understatement!), I can just enjoy the games without worrying about whether there are conspiracies of any kind against our athletes :D

Just to clarify - I do not think anyone on these boards is suggesting conspiracies against certain athletes.

I'm not sure if I missed the women's all-around because I was asleep or because I was out shopping. But good for Nastia Liukin - who I must note does not look like a child (Wikipedia has her turning 19 in two months). Maybe I'll catch a replay.

I obviously don't watch the American broadcast but from youtube clips and what I've read online, it sounds as though the commentary can be somewhat one-sided. That's fine, but those are the commentators' opinions, not facts. Being from a nation that's not very good at sports (understatement!), I can just enjoy the games without worrying about whether there are conspiracies of any kind against our athletes :D

Just to clarify - I do not think anyone on these boards is suggesting conspiracies against certain athletes.

Yes, I hope you can see it on youtube. Her last routine was fabulous. As for worrying about any conspiracy, I'm not at all. I enjoy watching all the athletes. The Chinese women did a great job and I feel for them almost as much as our team. Of course I want the US to win but really do appreciate the ability of all the athletes, and that is probably why I am so entertained by The Olympic games...watching all these athletes compete is very enjoyable for me. Finally, something worth turning the TV on.

I obviously don't watch the American broadcast but from youtube clips and what I've read online, it sounds as though the commentary can be somewhat one-sided.

The NBC commentators drive me crazy. At one point, in pre-finals, one of the Japanese male gymnasts made a mistake and had the audacity to smile shortly thereafter. The commentators made a huge deal about it. What did they want him to do, fall on a sword? I also don't like the way they ambush people for an interview right after they've had a major disappointment.

I am upset about the Chinese gymnast's age issue. Yes, they all look young, but it's more than that. There are official documents, newspaper articles, etc., that list at least one of them, if not more, as being 14. In the group competition, yes, the US screwed up and probably deserved the silver; but that doesn't mean it's okay for China to cheat, falsify documents, and lie to the world (and make the children lie, for the government), just because they might have done better than the US gymnasts that day.

The whole system disgusts me. The children are taken from their homes when they're 3 years old, then forced into intense training, away from their parents. At three years old. The gymnasts themselves rarely have any say in the matter, even though the intensity of their training will likely leave them disabled when they're older, and the Chinese government casts their athletes aside when they are no longer useful. An Olympic medalist in skiing from China suffered from diabetes for years, though her coaches wouldn't let her take medication for it. When she couldn't ski competitively anymore, they got rid of her, and now she's seriously ill and living on $33 a month._________________Jane AAR

I absolutely adore Dara Torres. 41 years old and swimming in the equivalent of the sprint of the Olympics against competitors 20 years younger. And such a great sportswoman with her asking the officials to delay the start so that a competitor can change her ripped suit. Man, I hope she wins.

******

As for Phelps, what a close one! Holy cripe. If not for modern technology, who could tell who won?

And did you hear the connection between the silver medal winner, Cavic's, coach and Phelp's coach? Cavic's coach lodged a protest of the race. Apparently, he used to coach Ian Hall, a fellow American swimmer, and is going to be taking over the coaching job at the University that Phelp's coach now holds.

It's very incestuous!

Oops.

The protest has been disallowed. They announced that a judge(s) (or someone official?) won't accept the protest because the review of the tape from the over head cameras proved that Phelps out touched Cavic.

Two bad Phelps wasn't a micro-second faster, so that all of this could be clear cut.

Sandlynn! Every time he gets into the pool, I'm in awe of his physique...too bad he's the same age as my own son! I'll tell ya, though, if I was gonna go cougar for anyone, he'd be first in line. _________________Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off until next week?

That guy from Jamaica who just won the 100m, fastest man in the world, race, leaped over to hug his mother and, in the midst of hugging her. hugged two random Chinese guys with her. The commentator said there's Usain Bolt, hugging his family.

He couldn't have done it w/out his teammates! But what an amazing accomplishment altogether. Eight gold medals, can you imagine? Truly inspiring...I mean I haven't even folded the laundry from yesterday!_________________Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off until next week?

Well, there are plenty of swimmers to appreciate at these Olympics in terms of looks . I think it is my patriotic duty to nominate an Israeli - so here's Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or, the last qualifier for the Israeli Olympic Team. No medals, but he did break some national records.

Since the (impressive) accomplishments of Michael Phelps seem to have overshadowed many of the other swimmers, I'd like to mention two people who I think are pretty impressive themselves:
Kirsty Coventryof Zimbabwe, who swims backstroke and medley, was the winner of three silvers and a gold (she broke the world record in the 200 backstroke), adding to the three medals she won in Athens. Ms. Coventry now lives and trains in the US, but as I understand it her family is in Zimbabwe, where the situation is very difficult, to say the least. I watched her on Eurosport yesterday and thought she came across well.
Alon Mandel of Israel, who swims butterfly, won no medals and did not qualify for the finals - or even the semis. He was not expected to contend, so this was no surprise. But Mandel did swim to a national record less than a week after his father died in an accident. It couldn't have been an easy decision to stay and compete, but I've read that this was his way of honoring his father's memory. I hope to see him swim even better in London 2012.

As I've written before, I'm usually more interested in the athletes who are not well-known, which is why I couldn't get into the whole Michael Phelps thing. Have any of you heard anything interesting about Olympic athletes who are not as famous? Of course, good pictures of competitors who are slightly less well-known would also be good ...

Sandlynn wrote:

That guy from Jamaica who just won the 100m, fastest man in the world, race, leaped over to hug his mother and, in the midst of hugging her. hugged two random Chinese guys with her. The commentator said there's Usain Bolt, hugging his family.

Now that's funny. Or maybe they were adopted? Anyway, it was an amazing run. I really hope he won't test positive for anything banned because the 100M final was really special.

Last edited by Yulie on Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

Did anyone catch some of the Women's 10,000m or the marathon race? Talk about endurance! And the winner of the marathon was a 38-year-old from Romania, I think! Yay, go old chicks!_________________Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off until next week?